YouTube Lets Video-Posting Thugs Blur Faces

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YouTube announced that it will allow users to blur the faces of people in videos to protect the identity of government dissidents or just to keep your own anonymity.

While YouTube used high-minded examples such as sharing "sensitive protest footage" or "not broadcasting the children's faces to the world," on the YouTube blog, it's also just as likely will spark users to post video pranks with their newly obscured identities.

It made us think about this story that happened in Chicago earlier this year, where seven teens allegedly lured a 17-year-old boy into an alley, beat and robbed him and then posted the attack on YouTube. With YouTube's new face-blurring tool, now all would-be thugs can be given anonymity on the Web.